| Seek good and not evil, so that you may live. Then the Lord, the God of hosts, will be with you as you claim he is. | Seek good, not evil, that you may live. Then the Lord God Almighty will be with you, just as you say he is. |
| God is not human, that he should lie, or the son of man, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act, does he promise and then not fulfill it? | God is not human, that he should lie, not a human being, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill? |
| Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence so that we may receive mercy and find grace when we are in need of help. | Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. |
| Hence, I advise you to be guided by the Spirit, so that you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. | So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. |
| Jesus replied, “If you wish to be perfect, go, sell your possessions, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” | Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” |
| Now, if you will obey my voice and keep my covenant, you will be my own possession from among all the peoples, for the entire earth is mine. | Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine. |
| Those who accepted his message were baptized, and on that day about three thousand people were added to their number. | Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day. |
| He said to them, “Then are you also without understanding? Do you not realize that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile him, since it enters not into the heart but into the stomach and is discharged into the sewer?” Thus, he pronounced all foods clean. | “Are you so dull?” he asked. “Don’t you see that nothing that enters a person from the outside can defile them? For it doesn’t go into their heart but into their stomach, and then out of the body.” (In saying this, Jesus declared all foods clean.) |
| Then Jesus said to him, “You have come to believe because you have seen me. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.” | Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” |
| Therefore, if the Son sets you free, you then will truly be free. | So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. |
| Then he took a cup, and after offering thanks he gave it to them, saying, “Drink from this, all of you. For this is my blood of the covenant, which will be shed on behalf of many for the forgiveness of sins.” | Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.” |
| Let what you heard from the beginning remain in you. If what you heard from the beginning remains in you, then you will remain in the Son and in the Father. | As for you, see that what you have heard from the beginning remains in you. If it does, you also will remain in the Son and in the Father. |
| Taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven and blessed and broke them and gave them to the disciples to distribute among the people. They all ate and were satisfied. Then they gathered up what was left over—twelve baskets of fragments. | Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke them. Then he gave them to the disciples to distribute to the people. They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. |
| Then he said to them, “Go forth into the whole world and proclaim the gospel to all creation.” | He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.” |
| Therefore, while we have the opportunity, let us labor for the good of all, but especially for those members of the household of the faith. | Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers. |
| The Lord then said, “Very well. All that he has is in your power. However, you may not lay a hand upon him.” So Satan went forth from the presence of the Lord. | The Lord said to Satan, “Very well, then, everything he has is in your power, but on the man himself do not lay a finger.” Then Satan went out from the presence of the Lord. |
| When the command is given, at the sound of the archangel’s voice and the call of God’s trumpet, the Lord himself will descend from heaven, and those who have died in Christ will be the first to rise. Then those of us who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them on clouds in the air to meet the Lord. And so, we will be with the Lord forever. | For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. |
| However, if you truly amend your ways and your deeds, if you are upright in your dealings with your neighbor; if you do not oppress the alien, the orphan, and the widow; if you do not shed innocent blood in this place; and if you do not follow other gods and thereby cause your own destruction, then I will allow you to live in this place, in the land that I gave as a permanent gift to your fathers long ago. | If you really change your ways and your actions and deal with each other justly, if you do not oppress the foreigner, the fatherless or the widow and do not shed innocent blood in this place, and if you do not follow other gods to your own harm, then I will let you live in this place, in the land I gave your ancestors for ever and ever. |
| Then I acknowledged my sin to you, and I made no attempt to conceal my guilt. I said, “I will confess my offenses to the Lord,” and you removed the guilt of my sin. Selah | Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord.” And you forgave the guilt of my sin. |
| And the Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I wish to make another creature who will be like him.” | The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.” |
| This is how you should pray: ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.’ | This, then, is how you should pray: ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.’ |
| There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the one who is able to save or to destroy. Who then are you to pass judgment on a neighbor? | There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the one who is able to save and destroy. But you—who are you to judge your neighbor? |
| Do not deprive one another, except perhaps by mutual consent for a specified time so as to devote yourselves to prayer. Then come together again so that Satan may not tempt you by taking advantage of your lack of self-control. | Do not deprive each other except perhaps by mutual consent and for a time, so that you may devote yourselves to prayer. Then come together again so that Satan will not tempt you because of your lack of self-control. |
| Remember this, my beloved brethren: everyone should be quick to listen but slow to speak and slow to anger. | My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry. |
| I, I alone, am the one who comforts you. Why then do you fear mortal men who must die, human beings who must perish like grass? | I, even I, am he who comforts you. Who are you that you fear mere mortals, human beings who are but grass. |
Bible verse of the day
My son, concentrate attentively on my words;pay heed to the instructions I pass on to you.
Do not let them slip from your mind;
keep them forever in your heart.